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Description: | Verse 1: 'Tho' cruel fate should bid us part, Far as the pole and line; Her dear idea round my heart Should tenderly entwine. Tho' mountains rise, and desarts howl, And oceans roar between; Yet, dearer than my deathless soul, I still would love my Jean.'
The 'Scots Musical Museum' is the most important of the numerous eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collections of Scottish song. When the engraver James Johnson started work on the second volume of his collection in 1787, he enlisted Robert Burns as contributor and editor. Burns enthusiastically collected songs from various sources, often expanding or revising them, whilst including much of his own work. The resulting combination of innovation and antiquarianism gives the work a feel of living tradition.
The words to this song were either written, revised or collected by Robert Burns. Although he is mentioned, in the 'Museum', as having written it, this information has at times proved to be unreliable. The tune to which this song is sung appeared in James Oswald's 'A Curious Collection of Scots Tunes', published in 1740. It is generally not considered to be a genuine Scottish air, but rather an imitation. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 | Publisher: | National Library of Scotland | Temporal: | 1787-01-01 - 1803-12-31 | Source: | Burns Scotland | Identifier: | Volume II, song 118, page 122 - 'The Nor | Go to resource |
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